1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the art of ring binders, such as those used to hold paper, photo album pages and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a locking system for holding the binder's rings closed when a lock is in a first position to prevent unintentional or improper opening. In a second lock position, the rings may be opened at will by the user. In a still more specific form, the invention features a security component which prevents movement of the lock between the first and second positions without the use of a tool. The security component prevents removal of pages or the addition of refill pages to the binder while it is in a store, but after its removal from the lock, the ring lock and ring opening functions of the lock may be selected easily and quickly without the use of a tool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ring binders of all sorts and sizes are well-known in the art and are used for school notebooks, holding photographs, presentation materials, etc. Typically, the ring binders include a plurality (two and three being the most common) of ring pairs, at least one of which has a generally C-shape. The ring pairs each have ends which can be opened or placed together. When opened, sheet material to be held in the binders can be placed over the rings. When closed the sheet material is held securely in the ring binder. If both of the ring pairs are C-shaped, a generally circular ring is formed.
A variety of ring mounting and opening systems are also well-known, most of which have applicability for use with the features of the present invention. The simplest includes a pair of elongate metal plates mounted behind a ring binder body, the non-contacting ends of the ring pairs passing through a front surface of the body and being joined to separate plates. The ring pairs are opened and closed by merely pulling apart the contacting ends of the ring pairs. Most of such systems "snap" into the fully opened or fully closed positions, due to the manner in which the plates are mounted to the back of the body.
Other binder ring systems are also very common. One of these includes an unlocking tab, at either or both ends of the ring binder body, pressure on the rings on which causes the plates, and the attached ring pair elements to snap into their open positions. Different varieties of these devices can be closed, either by manual pressure or by lifting up on the aforementioned tabs. In many ring binders, only one of the ring elements is C-shaped, the other being straight with a bend at its outer end which contacts the other ring element.
Two types of problems are encountered with ring binders of the types just discussed. One is frequently noted during use of the binders or when the binder is accidently dropped or otherwise mishandled. In these cases, the rings pop open when they are not supposed to, and the contents inadvertently spill and become disorganized. This frustrating occurrence has happened to nearly everyone and can results in wasted time while the contents are reorganized and reinserted or, in more severe cases, the contents can become damaged.
A different type of problem is encountered by manufacturers and retailers of ring binder products. This problem occurs when a customer wrongfully opens the ring pairs to remove, add to or substitute sheet material for those which may have been supplied at the time the binder was placed on the shelf. As an example, photograph albums are typically sold with a predetermined number of album pages, each designed to support a plurality of photographs. The albums, however, are designed to hold many more pages, and the manufacturer makes, and the retailer sells "refill" sets. Unfortunately, it is quite common for a customer to open a new album, insert refill sheets and close the album, discarding the packaging of the refill sets. The customer then presents the enlarged album to the check-out person who scans the UPC code of the binder itself and does not notice the theft of the pages. Similar examples could be provided for other types of binders, where punched paper sets, index sets, colored dividers and the like, each made to be sold separately, are placed into the binder before the product is taken from the store.
The theft of refill sets and other similar "accessories" for ring binders costs manufacturers and retailers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and a solution to this problem which does not increase substantially the manufacturing cost of these products would represent a significant advance in this art.
One proposed solution to the last mentioned problem has previously been proposed by the assignee of the present invention, i.e. to place heat shrink sealing rings about the rings to prevent the opening of the rings at the store. The sealing rings are easily cut away, using scissors or a knife, after the product is taken home. While effective for the sole purpose for which they were designed, the sealing rings, once removed, do not prevent inadvertent or accidental opening of the rings.